Cardline articles from January 2004

Cardline archives from January 2004

MASTERCARD GIVES THANKS TO EXTRA SHOPPING DAY.(Brief Article)
January 2, 2004... MasterCard International's MasterCard Advisors today reported that total across-the-board spending volume on MasterCard credit cards was up 10.5% nationwide during this year's holiday shopping season compared with last year's, thanks in part to...

GIFT CARD SALES EXPECTED TO REACH $17 BILLION IN NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER.(Brief Article)
January 2, 2004... The National Retail Federation today said that it expected gift card sales for November and December to reach $17 billion. A NRF spokesperson said the federation could not provide comparable figures for last November and December because this...

COMPANIES EXPECTED TO MOVE 500,000 JOBS OFFSHORE.(Brief Article)
January 2, 2004... Financial-services firms, including U.S. banks, are expected to move more than 500,000 jobs offshore over the next five to 10 years, says Andrea Bierce, managing director in the New York office of A.T. Kearney. The relocations are expected to...

HIGH ATTRITION RATE SPARKS MOVES OFFSHORE.(Brief Article)
January 2, 2004... Many financial-service companies are moving back-office operations offshore in search of lower employee attrition, says Elio Evangelista, senior analyst at Cutting Edge Information. "You can't really blame the companies (for going offshore) if...

MYVESTA FOUNDERS QUIT, BUT REMAIN ON THE COMPANY'S BOARD.(Steve Rhode and Mike Kidwell )(Brief Article)
January 2, 2004... Myvesta.org Inc. President and co-founder Steve Rhode and Vice President and co-founder Mike Kidwell resigned from the Rockville, MD, credit counseling agency on Dec. 19. Pamela S. Rhode, operations director and Rhode's wife, has become...

VISA'S 2003 VOLUME UP 9.9%.(Brief Article)
January 2, 2004... Visa USA last week reported fiscal 2003 volume of $1.066 trillion, up 9.9% from $970.5 billion in fiscal 2002. Visa's fiscal year ended Sept. 30. Purchases totaled $816.7 billion and cash advances were $249.7 billion. There were 15.6 billion...

LG CARD AGAIN FAILS TO ATTRACT A BUYER.(Brief Article)
January 2, 2004... LG Card Co. Ltd., South Korea's largest issuer, again failed to attract bidders, although Woori Bank, its largest creditor, extended the deadline a second time, according to Korean wire-service reports. The latest deadline came and went last...

CORRECTION.(Correction Notice)
January 2, 2004... CardLine last week included an error in a story about TCM Bank N.A. TCM Bank has one branch in Tampa, FL. CardLine regrets the error. Copyright 2004 Thomson Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. http://www.thomsonmedia.com...

SANTA PUT A LOT OF CHARGE VOLUME UNDER VISA'S TREE.(Brief Article)
January 2, 2004... Visa USA yesterday reported much higher pre- and post-Christmas spending on Visa credit and debit cards. The San Francisco-based card association said total spending on Visa cards between Nov. 28 and Dec. 28 was $97.9 billion, up 14.2% from...

SIZABLE SIGNATURE DEBIT GROWTH CONTINUES.(signature-based debit card usage)(Brief Article)
January 2, 2004... U.S. users of signature-based, or offline, debit cards initiated 7.1 billion purchases with the plastic during the first nine months of this year, up 20.3% from 5.9 billion during the same period in 2002, according to ATM&Debit News, a CardLine...

PSCU AND CO-OP NETWORK SIGN CREDIT-UNION DEALS.(TruMark Financial Credit Union contracts PSCU Financial Services)(Brief Article)
January 2, 2004... TruMark Financial Credit Union has converted the processing of its credit and debit card portfolios to PSCU Financial Services, a credit-union service organization based in St. Petersburg, FL. According to the agreement, which was signed in...

CARD-BACKED SECURITIES EXPECTED TO RISE NEXT YEAR.(Brief Article)
January 2, 2004... The total supply of asset-backed securities will drop 3% in 2004, but those from card issuers will rise 10%, according to Citigroup's Asset-Backed Outlook for 2004. Citi's Global Markets division forecast that the total value of ABS in 2004...

CONSUMERS CLAIM THEY'LL PUT AWAY CARDS NEXT YEAR.(Brief Article)
January 2, 2004... Seventy-two percent of consumers said their New Year's Resolution will be to limit the use of their credit cards, according to a survey released today by CoolSavings Inc., a Chicago-based online direct-marketing firm and media company....

PRICES RISE FOR OLDER CHARGED-OFF CARD DEBT.(Brief Article)
January 2, 2004... Prices for secondary and tertiary charged-off credit card debt are on the rise while prices of fresh paper remain stagnant. Secondary and tertiary accounts are selling for as much as 3 cents on the dollar, compared to about 2 cents in early...

MARKET FOR CHARGED-OFF CARD DEBT IS BIG AND GETTING BIGGER.(Brief Article)
January 2, 2004... Total sales of charged-off credit card debt in 2003 are expected to reach about $43 billion, up 19% compared with $36 billion in 2002, says Louis C. DiPalma, managing director for Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Inc., a New York-based investment...

LG CARD COULD RUN OUT OF MONEY BY FRIDAY.(Brief Article)
January 2, 2004... LG Card Co. Ltd., South Korea's largest credit card issuer, may run out of operating funds Friday if its creditors don't agree to plan in the interim to the rescue the ailing company, according to wire-service reports. "If any of the creditors...

MAJORITY OF CREDIT-UNION CARD PORTFOLIOS SHRANK IN THE THIRD QUARTER.(Brief Article)
January 2, 2004... AssetExchange, a Portland, OR, company that arranges online sales of card portfolios for credit unions, recently released its third-quarter analysis of credit-union card portfolios. AssetExchange concluded that 63% of them were smaller in...

CONSUMERS PLAYED THEIR CARDS DIFFERENTLY DURING RECENT REFI BOOM.(Brief Article)
January 2, 2004... More consumers got behind on their credit card bills during the recent home mortgage refinancing boom than during the two preceding periods of heavy refinancing activity, according to a new report from New York-based investment firm Keefe,...

FIRST DATA HAS SOME DEFT NEGOTIATING TO DO.(acquisition of Concord EFS Inc.)(Brief Article)
January 2, 2004... First Data Corp. has some delicate bargaining ahead as the processing firm becomes the nation's largest EFT network switch with its acquisition of Concord EFS Inc. of Memphis, TN, and Concord's Star network. Greenwood Village, CO-based First...

COMPETING ATM MANUFACTURERS SEE WINDOWS DIFFERENTLY.(Brief Article)
January 2, 2004... The two largest bank ATM manufacturers are taking separate paths toward securing ATMs from computer viruses as ATMs increasingly use Microsoft Corp.'s Windows operating system. Windows is expected to gradually to replace International Business...

TRM LOOKS TO GROW BUSINESS.(Brief Article)
January 2, 2004... Portland, OR-based TRM Corp. hopes to grow its ATM installation and maintenance business substantially through a new agreement with Long Beach, MS-based Triton, a unit of Dover Corp. TRM is to be Triton's preferred provider of maintenance on...

STORED VALUE SYSTEMS LAUNCHES GIFT-CARD PROGRAM FOR HANNAFORD.(Brief Article)
January 2, 2004... Stored Value Systems Inc. recently announced that it has launched a gift card program for the Hannaford Bros. Co. supermarket chain. The card-based program will replace gift certificates at Hannaford's 122 stores that are primarily located in...

CITIGROUP, THE WORLD'S LARGEST ISSUER, GETS TO ISSUE CARDS IN THE WORLD'S LARGEST MARKET.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2004... The China Banking Regulatory Commission and the People's Bank of China have given Citigroup Inc.'s Citibank and HSBC Holdings Plc permission to issue credit cards in China. Regulatory commission officials Wednesday notified Shanghai Pudong...

SOUTH KOREAN GOVERNMENT TO TAKE OVER LG CARD.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2004... Korean Development Bank, which is owned by the South Korean government, has agreed to take over ailing LG Card Co. Ltd. after the country's largest credit card issuer failed to find a buyer, according to wire-service reports. KDB would become...

AMEX-AIR CANADA REWARDS CARD TAXIING FOR TAKE OFF.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2004... A spokesperson for Amex Bank Canada today said the firm is close to issuing a cobranded American Express and Air Canada rewards card. "We said we would issue the card in the New Year, and the New Year is here," the spokesperson tells CardLine....

PSCU REACHES THE CITADEL OF CARD PROCESSING.(Citadel Federal Credit Union signs contract with PSCU Financial Services)(Brief Article)
January 9, 2004... Citadel Federal Credit Union has signed debit and credit card processing agreements with PSCU Financial Services, a credit-union service organization based in St. Petersburg, FL. PSCU will convert more than 53,000 debit accounts for signature...

THE PROCESSING INDUSTRY VIEWS HEALTH CARE AS A MAJOR MARKET.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2004... Health care, which looks to gain ground as a major market for the processing industry in 2004 though information, not card payments, will make up the bulk of the data flowing through networks. Sacramento, CA-based Insurance Benefit Spot Check...

INFICORP BUYS TWO CARD PORTFOLIOS.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2004... InfiCorp Holdings has purchased two credit-union card portfolios in deals arranged by AssetExchange, a Portland, OR-based online broker. Atlanta-based InfiCorp purchased the card portfolios of Northern Federal Credit Union in Watertown, NY, and...

UNIRUSH, JACKSON HEWITT SIGN AGREEMENT.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2004... UniRush Financial Services has formed a partnership with Jackson Hewitt Inc., the nation's second-largest tax preparation service. The two companies are offering direct deposit of income tax refunds into a Rush prepaid Visa card. Russell...

CARD DELINQUENCIES SET A RECORD IN THE THIRD QUARTER.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2004... Credit card delinquencies based on the number of accounts outstanding set a record in the third quarter, the American Bankers Association reported today. In the third quarter, seasonally adjusted card delinquencies of 30 days or more reached...

VISA'S AFTER-CHRISTMAS CHARGE VOLUME REMAINS HIGH.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2004... Visa USA's Visa SpendTrak today reported that charge volume from Dec. 29 through Jan. 4 was $17.6 billion, up 16.2% compared with the same period last year. Overall retail spending on Visa cards was $6.1 billion, up 14.7% from the same period...

CHARTER ONE SELLS 600,000 MASTERCARD GIFT CARDS.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2004... Cleveland-based Charter One Financial Inc. today announced that it sold 600,000 prepaid MasterCards during November and December, triple its expected holiday sales of about 200,000 cards, which carry no fees or shipping and handling charges....

DUST SETTLES ON EBAY, TUMBLEWEED LAWSUIT.(patent infringement)
January 9, 2004... EBay Inc., the online Web auctioneer, and Tumbleweed Communications, an e-mail security company, announced yesterday that they have settled their patent lawsuit, according to wire-service reports. In May 2002, Tumbleweed sued PayPal several...

CONTINENTAL, WESTERN UNION TRY TO MAKE CASH KING.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2004... Consumers who book a flight on Continental Airlines can pay for their tickets in cash through Western Union Financial Services Inc., the two companies announced yesterday. Both Western Union, a unit of First Data Corp., and Continental said...

KOREA'S ECONOMY PREDICTED TO SURVIVE LG CARD'S POSSIBLE FAILURE.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2004... Park Seung, governor of the Bank of Korea, said today that if financially ailing LG Card Co. Ltd., South Korea's largest credit card issuer, fails, the failure will not have a big impact on the nation's economy. "There could be a shock, but the...

FAIR ISAAC NAMES VP OF CORPORATE DEVELOPMENT.(Gresh Brebach )(Brief Article)
January 9, 2004... Fair Isaac Corp. today named Gresh Brebach vice president of corporate development, a newly created position at the San Rafael, CA, decision-technology company. Brebach will be responsible for overseeing the company's merger-and-acquisition...

CARD MAKER ACCUSES AMEX OF PATENT VIOLATION.(Perfect Plastic Printing Corp. sues American Express)(Brief Article)
January 9, 2004... Perfect Plastic Printing Corp., a St. Charles, IL-based card manufacturer, is suing American Express Co. for patent infringement and interfering patents involving transparent-translucent card technology. The card manufacturer filed suit to...

NATIONAL CITY PREPARES MAJOR ATM FACELIFT.(automated teller machine upgrades)(Brief Article)
January 9, 2004... National City Corp. will replace or upgrade all of its 1,580 ATMs in six Midwest states. The Cleveland-based banking company announced today plans to buy about 1,000 Opteva ATMs made by North Canton, OH, Diebold Inc. in the next 30 months and...

MEIJER MOVING TO PAPERLESS PAYROLL.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2004... Meijer Stores Ltd., a Grand Rapids, MI-based operator of grocery and general-merchandise stores, soon will discontinue issuing paper payroll checks to its employees. Through the end of the month, Meijer's 75,000 employees will need to choose...

OHIO'S LARGEST COUNTY PICKS U.S. BANK FOR E-CHECK TAX PAYMENTS.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2004... Residents of Cuyahoga County, the county that contains the city of Cleveland and many of its suburbs, can now pay their property taxes over the Internet using a new electronic-check payment service from Minneapolis-based U.S. Bancorp. The...

TEXTRON SELLS $402 MILLION SMALL-BUSINESS LOAN FILE TO MBNA.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2004... Commercial finance company Textron Financial today said that it has sold its $402 million Small Business Direct portfolio to MBNA Corp.'s MBNA America Bank N.A., the No. 2 credit card issuer. Textron Financial has more than $9 billion in...

TRANSUNION PURCHASES VISIONARY SYSTEMS.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2004... TransUnion LLP announced today it had bought Visionary Systems Inc., an Atlanta-based decision and data-access technology company. Terms of the deal between the two privately held firms weren't disclosed. Clients use Visionary's database to...

ALLIANCE DATA EXTENDS CANADIAN REWARDS CONTRACT.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2004... Processor Alliance Data Systems Corp. reported today it has extended its contract with BMO Bank of Montreal to operate the Canadian Air Miles Reward program. Terms of the deal weren't released. Alliance's The Loyalty Group division runs the...

CHICAGO TRANSIT MOVES TO AN ENHANCED SMART CARD.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2004... The Chicago Transit Authority is readying the new version of its contactless prepaid smart fare card for a Jan. 19 launch, CTA's vice president of technology management, John Flynn, tells CardLine. The Chicago Card Plus will be tied to a credit...

JUDGE OKS ATLANTA TRANSIT CONTRACT WITH CUBIC.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2004... A Fulton County, GA, judge has denied an injunction request by Thales e-Transactions against the Atlanta transit agency that would have required the agency to rebid a smart card-based fare-collection contract it awarded to Cubic Transportation...

INGENICO DENIES NCR'S PATENT-INFRINGEMENT CLAIM.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2004... Ingenico S.A., a leading payment-terminal maker whose U.S. headquarters is in Roswell, GA, is disputing claims by NCR Corp. that Ingenico's eN-Touch 1000 terminal infringes on Dayton, OH-based NCR's recently issued patent and vows to defend...

REVOLVING CREDIT CONTRACTS IN NOVEMBER.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2004... Consumer revolving credit decreased in November at an annualized rate of 0.9%, the Federal Reserve reported this afternoon. The Fed said that seasonally adjusted revolving credit outstandings totaled $739.4 billion in November compared with a...

DEBT, JOB CONCERNS WEIGH ON CONSUMERS.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2004... More U.S. consumers say their number-one priority for 2004 is to pay off or pay down their debt than those who plan to lose weight and exercise, according to a survey released today by Cambridge Consumer Credit Index. For the first time since...

U.S. COURT HALTS TELEMARKETING CREDIT SCAM.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2004... A federal judge last month issued a temporary restraining order against a nationwide telemarketing operation that allegedly falsely promised consumers with poor credit histories an unsecured bank card in exchange for processing fees of between...

INFICORP BUYS SEVEN CREDIT-UNION PORTFOLIOS.(Brief Article)
January 9, 2004... Atlanta-based InfiCorp Holdings Inc. Wednesday announced that it recently bought seven small credit-union credit card portfolios with total outstandings of $33 million. In each case, InfiCorp established long-term agent relationships in which...

PIN-DEBIT USE CONTINUES TO RISE SIGNIFICANTLY.
January 16, 2004... Last month, the top five EFT networks, which combined handle more than 90% of the nation's PIN-based point-of-sale debit volume, switched 592.2 million transactions, up 26.8% from 467.2 million in December 2002, according to a recent survey...

CARD LOSSES RISE SLIGHTLY IN NOVEMBER.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... Chargeoff rates on pools of securitized credit card receivables increased 10 basis points to 7% of outstandings in November from 6.9% in October, according to the Standard & Poor's Credit Card Quality Index released today. The November rate...

VISA, PHILIPS PARTNER ON MINI-CHIPS.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... Visa International has teamed with Royal Philips Electronics to showcase a payment technology that allows mobile phones to communicate with inexpensive mini-chips to conduct transactions. Visa and Philips are demonstrating the technology at the...

CONCORD SHAREHOLDERS TO VOTE ON FIRST DATA MERGER.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... Shareholders of Memphis, TN-based Concord EFS Inc. will receive a detailed prospectus and notice of a final meeting time for a vote on the proposed buyout of Concord by First Data Corp. by Jan. 16, according to a Concord announcement yesterday...

BANKS GEAR UP FOR DIGITAL CHECK CLEARING.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... Pilot projects are getting underway as the new federal Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act payment law goes into effect this year. The act requires that financial institutions in October begin accepting so-called substitute checks-copies...

HOLIDAY SPIRIT BUOYED ONLINE SHOPPERS, MERCHANTS.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... The mood was bright this holiday season for both online shoppers and merchants, according to the Shop.org-BizRate 2003 eHoliday Mood study, which surveyed 5,163 online buyers and more than 80 online retailers Dec. 29 and 30. Customer...

NEW ILLINOIS LAWS AFFECT DEBIT.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... The new year ushers in two new debit-related laws in Illinois. One allows ATMs to be used as emergency calling devices. Users can enter their personal identification number in reverse to call local police in an emergency. Another new law lifts...

VISA ENABLES POS ACCESS TO PREPAID CARD BALANCES.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... Visa USA today announced the availability of a systems enhancement that enables merchants to notify holders of Visa prepaid gift cards of their available balances at the point of sale. With Visa's POS Balance Inquiry Service, Visa gift...

ALLIANCE DATA BUYS CARD PORTFOLIO.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... Stage Stores Inc. agreed to sell the card portfolio of its Peebles Inc. subsidiary to Alliance Data Systems Corp., the companies announced today. The final sale price for Peebles' 180,000 private-label account portfolio will be determined by...

PAY BY TOUCH SIGNS AGREEMENT WITH IBM.
January 16, 2004... The biometric payment company Pay By Touch announced today it has signed a one-year agreement with IBM Corp. allowing IBM to offer biometric fingerprint readers to its retailer clients. "IBM will market our system, install the fingerprint...

GIFT CARD SALES ACCOUNTED FOR 8% OF CHRISTMAS SALES.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... Gift card sales hit an estimated $17.2 billion during the November to December holiday season, accounting for about 8% of retail sales, Rosalind Wells, chief economist of the National Retail Federation, announced today at the NRF's 93rd Annual...

HYPERCOM ROLLS OUT NEW PIN PAD.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... Hypercom Corp., a Phoenix-based point-of-sale terminal maker, today announced the rollout of a new personal identification number pad. The S9 model complies with the latest encryption protocols, including the PIN Entry Device security protocols...

AMEX BANK OF CANADA, AIR CANADA ISSUE NEW CARDS.(American Express Co.'s Amex Bank of Canada and Air Canada's Aeroplan launched three co-branded charge cards)(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... American Express Co.'s Amex Bank of Canada and Air Canada's Aeroplan today unveiled three co-branded charge cards the issuer claims will help cardholders earn Aeroplan Miles almost as fast as a speeding jet. Amex Bank said American Express...

CREDIT UNION REISSUES CARDS FOLLOWING THEFT.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... Deere Harvester Credit Union last week reissued fewer than 100 credit cards to members after Visa USA informed Deere and three other credit unions in the Illinois-Iowa Quad Cities area about a theft that could have compromised their operations....

MASTERCARD AGAIN MATCHES VISA'S DEBIT RATES.
January 16, 2004... MasterCard International once again is adjusting its debit interchange rates to match Visa USA's, mirroring a decision made last month, CardLine has learned. In a statement to its members, MasterCard says it is altering its December rate-change...

CHEX SERVICES SUES OVER LOSS OF CASINO BUSINESS.
January 16, 2004... Chex Services Inc., which was recently fired as a provider of cash services for Seminole-owned casinos in Florida, today announced that it has sued the tribe and the company that replaced it. Chex Services, a subsidiary of Equitex Inc. of...

IBM TO RESELL FAIR ISAAC SOFTWARE.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... Risk-management software developer Fair Isaac Corp. today scored a big win with its disclosure that International Business Machines Corp. will resell its products worldwide. San Rafael, CA-based Fair Isaac would not disclose the revenues it...

FIFTH THIRD WILL SERVE ARMED FORCES FINANCIAL NETWORK.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... The Armed Forces Financial Network, an EFT network for U.S. military personnel and their families, will use Fifth Third Bank Processing Solutions, a subsidiary of Cincinnati-based Fifth Third Bancorp, for transaction processing services. Fifth...

CONSUMER ACCEPTANCE MAKES GIFT CARDS A HOT SALES ITEM.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... Gift cards became one of the hottest products for retailers last year, according to experts at the National Retail Federation's 93rd Annual Convention & Expo in New York City this week. Gift cards have seen 20% annual sales growth since the...

VIVOTECH LAUNCHES CONTACTLESS GIFT CARD.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... Vivotech yesterday announced the launch of what it calls the card industry's first reloadable contactless gift card. The Vivogiftcard will allow consumers to purchase goods by waving a chip-based card or token near a merchant's payment...

LG CARD IS SET FOR A MANAGEMENT PURGE.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... Korean Development Bank, the state-run financial institution that led a $4.5 billion rescue of LG Card Co. Ltd., Korea's largest issuer, said it will name a new CEO at LG Card before the end of the month. The new CEO, according to wire-service...

MBNA RUMORED TO BE BUYING U.K.'S EGG PLC.
January 16, 2004... Egg Plc, the United Kingdom-based Internet bank that has a 5.6% share of the U.K. credit card market, issued a statement today that adds fuel to the rumor that MBNA Corp. has made an offer to gain control of the company gg said it is assisting...

MERCHANTS MAY FIND NO DEBIT, NO SALE.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... The results of a recent Harris Interactive survey sponsored by MasterCard International, suggest that merchants who choose not to accept debit cards may lose business. The Dec. 3-5 survey of 2,465 adults over age 18, 1,476 of whom use debit...

VISA OFFICIALLY ROLLS OUT EXTRAS REWARDS PROGRAM.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... Visa USA today announced the official launch of Visa Extras, which is designed to make it more affordable for member issuers to offer a rewards program to consumer and small-business cardholders. Cardholders earn points, which expire after 36...

SO FAR, SO GOOD WITH SEARS AND CITI.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... Sears, Roebuck and Co. CEO Alan Lacy tells CardLine that he is satisfied with his company's recent sale of its proprietary and MasterCard credit card portfolio to Citigroup Inc. "We completed that in November; we're very pleased with the...

SEARS FOUND THAT A WINNING LOYALTY PROGRAM WASN'T A SLAM-DUNK.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... In a question-and-answer session today at the National Retail Federation's 93rd Annual Convention & Expo in New York City, Sears, Roebuck and Co. Chairman and CEO Alan Lacy briefly discussed a now-defunct card-linked loyalty program that Sears...

GO SOFTWARE PURCHASES ATOMIC SOFTWARE'S ASSETS.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... GO Software Inc., a transaction-processing software firm, has acquired the assets and intellectual property of Atomic Software Inc., Savannah, GA-based GO announced last week. GO will integrate into its product line Atomic's dial-up product,...

CHEX SERVICES SEEKS EXPEDITED HEARING.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... Chex Services Inc. is seeking an expedited court hearing concerning its firing as the financial-services vendor for five Seminole Tribe-owned casinos in Florida, CardLine has learned quitex Inc., Chex Services' parent company, filed complaints...

J.P. MORGAN CHASE REPORTEDLY BUYS BANK ONE.
January 16, 2004... J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. today reportedly agreed to purchase Bank One Corp. for $60 billion, making the combined company one of the nation's largest credit and debit card issuers ews of the merger is being reported by all major financial wire...

MERGER CREATES BEHEMOTH BUT LEAVES MAJOR QUESTIONS UNANSWERED.
January 16, 2004... The planned acquisition by J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. of Bank One Corp. will create a massive credit and debit card competitor that could someday choose between Visa and MasterCard. In a meeting with analysts this morning, the two banks' leaders,...

MERGER TALKS TRUMPED BANK ONE'S NETWORK DECISION.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... There now appears to be a logical reason why Chicago-based Bank One Corp. has kept silent on its plans for EFT network affiliations, despite rampant rumors the last few months that Bank One plans to drop the Star network as its main ATM and...

EFFECT ON FIRST DATA UNCLEAR.
January 16, 2004... First Data Corp., the nation's largest card processor, has extensive ties to both Bank One Corp. and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. that face unknown risk as the banks merge. Chase and First Data operate Chase Merchant Services, the nation's largest...

NPC POSTS PROFIT, BUT STOCK STILL GETS HAMMERED.
January 16, 2004... Merchant acquirer National Processing Inc. today announced fourth-quarter earnings of $14.8 million, up 5% from $14.1 million in 2002's fourth quarter, but its stock fell as analysts turned pessimistic about the profit outlook in 2004....

FTC ACCEPTS ISO'S SETTLEMENT.(Brief Article)
January 16, 2004... The Federal Trade Commission has accepted a $23.5 million settlement from Certified Merchant Services, bringing to a close the FTC's first-ever complaint against an independent sales organization for practices related to the marketing of credit...